Jurgen: I've noticed that with the early loss of the high frequencies they perceive the sounds to be flat in the high treble, then as the loss gets worse they finally don't hear a tone and perceive that there's no tone. I remember one teacher who had 3 pianos - all with screaming trebles - and she was telling me there was no tone "just a wooden thud". To me this is the most difficult situation we face. Telling a person that their beloved piano has died is the second most difficult. Telling them the piano is fine and your hearing is going is the toughest. dave __________________________ David M. Porritt, RPT Meadows School of the Arts Southern Methodist University Dallas, TX 75275 dporritt at smu.edu ________________________________ From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org on behalf of Jurgen Goering Sent: Mon 3/13/2006 5:37 PM To: pianotech at ptg.org Subject: Treble tuning for elderly clients Conrad's reply to the "ohoh" thread spurs me to ask a question regarding tuning for elderly clients, I'll say 70+ yrs. of age. Often when they call me for tuning, the main complaint is about the piano being especially out of tune in the high treble. When I get to the piano, the mid section is wildly out and the treble is much more in tune. I tune the piano properly, but sometimes I'm not convinced I have solved the problem in the high treble, according to their ears. Just what is their perception? I tend to think that there is some high frequency hearing loss going on there, perhaps coupled with a heightened sensitivity to certain partials or frequency interactions that are painful for them to listen to. Surely I'm not the only technician encountering this. How can we tune the piano properly and do the client justice without implying "if this sounds bad to you, you better get your ears checked"? (I had my ears checked not too long ago, and there was no hearing loss apparent, in case anyone is wondering... :^) Jurgen Goering Piano Forte Supply (250) 754-2440 info at pianofortesupply.com http://www.pianofortesupply.com On Mar 13, 2006, at 10:11 AM, Conrad Hoffsommer wrote: I'd be inclined to go further in John's direction and actually question (to myself whilst in his presence) the _owner's_ hearing in that range. After all, it was the _owner_ who wanted to note higher, not the tuner. Was the owner also of a certain age??? Conrad Hoffsommer -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: application/ms-tnef Size: 5522 bytes Desc: not available Url : https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/pianotech.php/attachments/20060313/737dd365/attachment-0001.bin
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